Jill's left hand symbols

My engagement ring broke in two just moments before I was about to walk down the aisle. At the pivotal moment between being a bride and becoming a wife I dared not think of this as an omen. In a hushed voice I handed the heirloom ring to my mother and asked her to have it repaired while we were on our honeymoon.

The square-cut diamond, set in platinum had belonged to my husband’s grandmother. It had been saved for him to give to his bride. He slipped in onto my finger while I was sleeping. The ring was his way of asking me to marry him. I was not a young woman who cared, or even knew about the five “C’s” of diamonds, certification, carat, clarity, color and cut. For me, the ring symbolized the strength of our relationship, and he wanted to marry me.

Over the course of our marriage I wore three other rings on my left hand a top my long since repaired engagement ring. An unadorned gold wedding band, a single platinum band, and a platinum band inlaid with small round diamonds. They declared my status as a wife, and I never took them off.

The joy leaked out of our decade plus marriage, and without noticing it became lifeless and shriveled, ultimately ending with a blistering divorce. I sold my rings. I didn’t want to keep them for my daughters.

Each time I glanced at my left hand I felt bereft. Accustomed to wearing rings, I had no rings to wear. The empty space left me aching to regain the comfort of wearing a symbol. But I was no longer someone’s wife, didn’t have a significant relationship, and didn’t simply want to wear a decorative piece of jewelry.

The Freedom Ring - designed by Jill Slaughter

I designed The Freedom Ring. It is worn on the middle finger. There is no stone, no jewel, no setting. The square-shaped ring showcases unoccupied space which declares the truly precious element, the flesh of the person wearing this symbol of self-love.

The Freedom Ring - accessory page of The Los Angeles Yogi Times

I needed to wear a ring, but not one that defined my romantic role in someone’s life. The ring I wanted to wear had to visually prompt me to embrace courage, possibility and change. I designed that ring. I wear that ring. The Freedom Ring symbolizes the commitment to being and becoming your story, not re-telling your story, not waiting for a story. The Freedom Ring is worn by people who value themselves as a jewel. The designed space is not empty, it is open.

The Freedom Ring is not currently in production.

And This Is What I Know:

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